


Be True to Yourself

by ArowanaPrincess



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), F/M, M/M, Multi, No Spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 07:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14666391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArowanaPrincess/pseuds/ArowanaPrincess
Summary: There’s a mystery in the 79th class of Hope’s Peak Academy. An enigma that the entire class, save one, was wondering about. However, they can’t ask their detective to solve the puzzle for them.After all, it would be rude to ask Shuichi Saihara who stole his heart.





	Be True to Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so some things:
> 
> There are minor ships that do not affect the story as much as the major ones. Since the story doesn't focus on them, I didn't tag them. The minor ships are Kaito/Maki and Himiko/Tenko.
> 
> There aren't any game spoilers here. There might be references, but nothing that reveals the deaths and plot twists in the game.
> 
> I removed certain "evil" characteristics to two characters. These evil characteristics are major plot twists in the game (NDRV3 Chapters 3 and 6). I might have toned down Kokichi, but in my defense, he's not forced to partake in a killing game in this universe so he probably isn't that malicious in this situation.
> 
> I'm trying to be true to the Japanese spirit while using the official English translation to heighten the experience. Thanks for bearing with me, and feel free to point out any mistakes I might've made.

Shuichi wasn’t sure when it had started, but he knew when he had realized it – on a fateful Thursday morning.

“Good morning, Saihara-kun!”

As he walked through the classroom door, Shuichi looked at the blonde girl sitting on her table. A fuzzy feeling seemed to bloom through his chest as he waved at her.

“Good morning, Akamatsu-san,” he greeted her in return.

Kaede’s grin was definitely more expressive than Shuichi’s curled lips. She motioned for Shuichi to come closer.

Shuichi sat down in Kirumi’s chair, the seat in front of Kaede, facing Kaede and the classmate she was conversing with earlier, Tsumugi. Kaede flashed one of her trademark smiles at Shuichi before going back into her conversation with the other girl. He didn't really bother to follow their conversation - they were just exchanging their thoughts on the newest episode of some idol anime - but it was nice observing how lively they were. Kaede’s eyes, in particular, seemed to sparkle as she gestured wildly to further express how she felt about the anime.

It was a morning routine of his to listen to Kaede ramble, just enjoying the sound of her happy voice-

Shuichi screamed as something crashed into him.

Sprawled on the floor, Shuichi winced from the impact of hitting the floor, chairs, and tables. He turned to face whatever had crashed into him. A sigh escapes his lips as he recognizes what - or more accurately, _who_ \- had crashed into him.

Shuichi sighed. It was also a morning routine of his to be suddenly interrupted from listening to Kaede.

“Normally, you'd use literally any object that isn't yourself. Can you explain why you decided to use yourself this time, Oma-kun?”

Kokichi had fallen over the chair that Shuichi had been in earlier, face down on the ground. His head whipped up and his impish smile peeked through violet bangs. “Oh, Saihara-chan! I was just thinking that my usual tricks were starting to get boring, so I wanted to spice it up today.”

“That doesn't mean you can just do that, Oma-kun!” Kaede rushed over to Shuichi, helping him up. “Not only do you bother Saihara-kun, you always make a huge mess in the morning! Don't you feel sorry for Tojo-san?”

“It's fine, Akamatsu-san,” Kirumi replied as she approached the scene. “I don't mind cleaning up the mess. Besides, I only have to fix the tables and chairs this time, compared to the previous pranks that involved various substances.”

“Even if you're fine with it, Tojo-san, Oma-kun might have seriously injured Saihara-kun!”

Kokichi gasped, putting a hand on his chest. “Akamatsu-chan, I would _never_ intentionally hurt my beloved Saihara-chan.”

Shuichi blushed. It had been a while since Kokichi had started calling him “his beloved,” but he still hadn't gotten over the embarrassment if it. He still didn't understand why Kokichi had begun to call him that.

Kaede scoffed at that. “I'll believe that when you stop bothering him.”

Kokichi pouted. “But Saihara-chan is never bothered by me! After all, I’m just an adorable boy who does nothing but bring joy into his life.”

Kaede rolled her eyes. “Oh please. You bring nothing but trouble. I’m fairly certain that Saihara-kun thinks the same.”

Kokichi mimicked Kaede’s eye-roll, exaggerating the motion quite dramatically. “It’s not like Saihara-chan said that.”

“Oh yeah?” Kaede’s head whipped around to face Shuichi. “Saihara-kun, tell him that he only gives you trouble.”

Shuichi grimaced, tipping his hat down to block his gaze. “W- well,” he stuttered, “Oma-kun often causes trouble for us-”

“See?”

“-but I don’t think he’s just trouble.” Shuichi could see Kaede’s jaw dropping. He averted her gaze. “I- I mean, I think he’s just trying to, um, show us affection, in his own way.”

“See, Akamatsu-chan?” Kokichi suddenly appeared beside Shuichi. The small boy hugged Shuichi and started nuzzling the blushing boy. “Saihara-chan appreciates all my effort.”

Shuichi could feel the intensity of Kaede’s stare burning into him. “Saihara-kun, you’re way too nice to him.”

Shuichi shrugged. He honestly didn’t know _why_ he was like this either. “But,” he tried to reply, “as the class rep, you should be friendly with all our classmates.”

“Not when they’re bothering other people!”

“Akamatsu-chan,” Kokichi spoke in a sing-songy voice, “Saihara-chan already said that he wasn’t bothered by me.”

“He only said that you weren’t just trouble, _not_ that you weren’t bothering him.” Kaede then grabbed Kokichi’s sleeve and tried to pull him away from Shuichi. “Anyway, let go of Saihara-kun.”

“No way! Not when he’s this soft and cuddly.” Kokichi buried his head into Shuichi’s chest. Shuichi silently hoped that his face wasn’t too red.

Kaede let out an irritated sound. She put her hands on her hips and examined the two boys for a few seconds. She suddenly said, “I’m sorry for what I’m going to do, Saihara-kun.”

“Wha-”

Kaede pounced on the two boys, her arms reaching out to capture Kokichi. Shuichi was knocked to the side. He stared, shocked, at Kaede trying to contain a surprised Kokichi.

Kokichi gasped, covering his mouth. “Akamatsu-chan! If you wanted me for yourself, you could’ve just said so.”

“You know that I just want you to stop bothering Saihara-kun.”

“And _you_ know that Saihara-chan isn’t bothered by me.”

They kept squabbling, not taking note of the crowd gathering around them. Shuichi wondered how did he get into a situation like this.

Shuichi felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned his head to see Kaito, a concerned look on his face, with his hand outstretched. Shuichi took the hand and pulled himself up. “Thanks, Momota-kun.”

Kaito looked at the scene in front of him. “Geez, Saihara, I know that something always happens to you in the morning, but this is starting to get worse.”

Shuichi sighed. “I know, but I’m not really sure how I can prevent it.”

Kaito shrugged. “It’s not your fault though. I mean, you might be the cause of it, but it’s not really your fault.”

Shuichi gave Kaito a confused look. “Explain?”

“I mean, they might be fighting over you but it’s not like you forced them to-”

“Wait!” Shuichi held up his hands, grabbing Kaito’s full attention. “What do you mean, they’re fighting over _me_?”

Kaito snickered. “You never noticed it? I thought it was obvious that they’ve been having some kind of jealousy spat over you.”

Shuichi’s face must’ve been hilarious, because Kaito let out a bigger laugh. Kaito continued, “For a sidekick, you’re quite the catch. I’m not really surprised that you have people going after you.”

“B- but- what- but- that couldn’t be-”

“Dude, relax. This might be a shock to you, but you’re quite attractive. At least, you’re quite attractive to Akamatsu and Oma.” Kaito gestured at the two quarreling students, now being pulled apart by their other classmates.

Shuichi tried to say something, but found that nothing would come out of his mouth. He shook his head.

Kaito laughed once again, putting his arm around Shuichi. “Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to pick one now. It’s not either of them are forcing you to choose yet.”

“How is this _not_ forcing me to choose yet?”

“We’re talking about Akamatsu and Oma here. They’re both go-getter types who would make it a lot more obvious. I’m not even sure that they realize their feelings for you yet. At least, Akamatsu hasn’t. I never have a clue with Oma.”

“I don’t think anyone has a clue with Oma,” Shuichi absentmindedly commented, staring the young boy squirming in Tojo’s hands.

Kaito scratched the back of his head. “Well, you’re kinda the person closest to getting a clue. That might be why he likes you.”

“K- Kaito!”

“What? I thought you got over the shock of learning that you have people crushing on you.”

“I- but- ugh!” Shuichi plopped his head on Kaito’s shoulder. “I really hope that you’re wrong about all this.”

“It’s not just me though. The whole class thinks the same.”

“ _What_?”

“Well, okay, I haven’t really discussed it with everyone, but every time the topic is brought up, no one questions that those two have crushes on you. The closest was Gonta, and that was only because he didn’t really understand that some people like other people more than everyone else.”

Shuichi buried his face in his hands. “This is so embarrassing.”

Kaito ruffled Shuichi’s hair. “Hey, like I said, don't worry about it. You don’t have to pick one yet. In fact, you _could_ reject both of them if you don’t like either of them. Although, if I were you, I’d pick Akamatsu. She’s cute and less trouble.”

“Oma-kun is cute too,” Shuichi automatically replied, realizing what he said a second later. He glared at Kaito, who wasn’t hiding his amusement. “You are _not_ allowed to tell that to anyone.”

“Hey, if you prefer Oma, I can’t really judge you.”

“I don’t prefer Oma, I-” Shuichi cut his words short, looking at Tojo lecturing Kaede and Kokichi. He stared at the two of them, allowing logical deductions to flow to his mind and make conclusions. Conclusions like Shuichi’s feelings about the situation-

_(This was the exact moment when Shuichi realized it.)_

“I what, Saihara?”

_(He wasn’t sure when it had started. The fuzzy feelings, the blushing, the desire to never let go-)_

“Dude, you can’t leave me hanging here like this.”

_(But here he was, in a situation that he never thought he’d be in.)_

“Saihara?”

“Sorry,” Shuichi muttered. “I just… realized something.”

“You realized that you have feelings for one of them, haven’t you?”

“Momota-kun!”

Kaito laughed. “Don't worry, man. Your secret’s safe with me. Just tell me who later, okay?”

“It’s- it’s not- it’s not what you think-”

“Dude, you don’t have to deny your feelings. It’s a part of who you are. It’s nothing you should feel bad about. And if they give you trouble over you rejecting them, I’ll be there for you. You should be true to yourself, no matter what.”

_(But…)_

_(What if the truth hurt?)_

_(What if the truth was unfair?)_

_(What if the truth was something Shuichi couldn’t even begin to comprehend?)_

_(He couldn’t-)_

~~_(He couldn’t be in love with-)_ ~~

_(No-)_

“Saihara?”

_(He wouldn’t accept it.)_

_(He couldn’t.)_

“Sorry, Momota-kun. I was just thinking."

_(There were some truths better left unsaid.)_


End file.
